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Alumni E-News from St Vladimir's Seminary
April 2005
Volume 5, No. 4 Dear Friends, As we move past the mid-point of our Lenten journey, we greet each of you with warmest regards. As you will see below, March has been a very full and demanding month. Yet, we are blessed by the richness of the activities and the many visitors who have graced our seminary. We continue to keep you in our prayers! HIERARCHS VISIT SEMINARY CAMPUS His Grace Bishop Nikolai, Bishop of Sitka, Anchorage, and Alaska visited the seminary on the second Sunday of Great Lent, March 27. This was the second visit of His Grace, but the first at which he presided at the Divine Liturgy. Accompanying him were Protopresbyter Robert Kondratick, Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, and Archpriest David Brum, Secretary of Metropolitan Herman (OCA). After Liturgy, His Grace greeted the chapel community with warm words and informed them of the wonderful reputation that St Vladimir's has everywhere he travels. Visit the website at: http://www.svots.edu/Three-Hierarchs-Chapel/2005-0327-bishop-nikolai/index.html His Grace Bishop Benjamin, Bishop of Berkeley and Auxiliary for the Diocese of the West, visited the seminary on Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1. An SVS alumnus (‘81), Bishop Benjamin attended chapel services and took up his position as a second tenor in the seminary male choir. He also visited with students from the Diocese of the West. See http://www.svots.edu His Grace Bishop Seraphim, Bishop of Ottawa and Canada and an SVS alumnus (‘82), also visited the seminary from Friday, April 1 to Wednesday, April 6. He presided at the Vigil of the Holy Cross on Saturday evening and at the Sunday Liturgy. At the Liturgy he ordained third-year student Deacon Justin Patterson to the holy priesthood and second-year student Christopher Foley to the diaconate. His Grace Bishop Kallistos (Ware), Bishop of Diokleia, arrived on the seminary campus on Sunday evening April 3 to give the keynote address at the Symposium on the Passion of Christ. Speaking to an overflowing crowd numbering over 300 people, Bishop Kallistos spoke on the four models for understanding the Passion of Christ. He resided on campus for the week while he spoke at Fordham University and other venues. SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH DELEGATION INCLUDES SEMINARY IN THEIR ITINERARY A delegation of bishops and other dignitaries from the Serbian Orthodox Church visited the seminary on Tuesday, March 29. SVS alumnus Fr Irenej Dobrijevic ('82) accompanied them. For details of the visit, please go to the seminary website at: http://www.svots.edu/Press-Releases/2005-0330-serb-delegation/index.html SEMINARY CHOIR SINGS PRESANCTIFIED LITURGY AT SYOSSET The seminary male choir sang the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday morning, March 30 for the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America, which held its spring meeting from Monday, March 28 to Thursday, March 31. This annual event is an opportunity for our students to meet their diocesan bishops and to visit the Central Church offices. SEMINARY ADMINISTRATION HOLDS INFORMATION SESSION ON MARRIED STUDENT APARTMENTS The seminary administration held an information session for all married students on the progress of the new married students apartments currently under construction on the seminary campus. Peter Pruzinsky, Chief Financial Officer, and Ted Bazil, Business Manager, spoke on a number of issues including the kinds of apartments that the new structures will provide, possible completion dates, rent considerations, and apartment assignments. The married students were grateful for the information and the opportunity to ask questions. METROPOLITAN HERMAN VISITS THE SEMINARY His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, President of the seminary, visited on the first Monday of Great Lent to serve the Canon of St Andrew of Crete. This is an annual event for the Metropolitan. The seminary looks forward to and is grateful for his presence. SVS ALUMNUS PROVIDES LENTEN MEDITATIONS Archpriest Vladimir Berzonsky (‘65) provided the four meditations during the seminary Lenten Retreat held the first two days of Great Lent. Fr Vladimir spoke on Great Lent as a time to discover who one is in relationship to Christ. See website for further information: http://www.svots.edu/Events/chronological/2005-0315-lenten-retreat/index.html. REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE DIOCESE OF THE WEST VISIT SEMINARY Fr Matthew Tate, Dean of the Missionary District of the Diocese of the West, accompanied by SVS alumnus, Fr Lawrence Russell (‘87) visited the seminary on Friday, March 4 to meet with seminarians from the Diocese of the West. After Vespers, Fr Matthew and Fr Lawrence took the group out for a meal and fellowship. STUDENTS TRAVEL TO HOLY CROSS FOR OISM MEETING Three seminarians — first-year students Nathan Preston, Joseph Olas, and Nicholas Garklavs — traveled to Holy Cross Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA to attend the semi-annual meeting of the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement (OISM) held Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20. OISM, although a long-time feature of inter-Orthodox seminary fellowship, has seen revitalization in the last year. Between 30-40 students from Holy Cross, St Tikhon's, St Vladimir's, attended the meeting. St Vladimir's will host the next meeting in the fall of 2005. YOUTH INSTITUTE For the seventh consecutive year, the seminary will host a Youth Institute for those completing their junior year of high school. The program runs concurrently with the summer Liturgical Institute and provides the students with an exceptional opportunity to deepen their faith within a seminary context. We ask our alumni to identify and encourage young people in their parish communities who are serious about their faith to attend. The program is free except for travel expenses. For more information and download of application forms and parental consent forms, please visit: http://www.svots.edu/Press-Releases/2005-0126-youth-institute.html. SEMINARY CHORALE SETS OUT FOR LIMITED ENGAGEMENTS The St Vladimir's Seminary Chorale, which toured Florida over the winter break, will be visiting a limited number of parishes during the Lenten season. They will sing the responses to the Liturgy at Holy Trinity Church, Stroudsburg, PA on April 10, followed by a Deanery Vespers Service at Ss Peter and Paul Church, Manville, NJ where Metropolitan Herman will preside. In addition, they will sing the responses to the Liturgy at Holy Trinity Church in New Britain, CT on April 17. A trip is also being planned for the Chicago area after commencement. It will conclude with a visit to St Tikhon's for the 100th anniversary of the Memorial Day pilgrimage there. DATES SET FOR FALL 2005 CLASS REUNION The Alumni Board has secured Monday, October 17 to Wednesday, October 19 as the dates set for the second Alumni Class Reunion. The Class of 1980 is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the Class of 1945 is celebrating its 50th anniversary. An information packet will be mailed after Pascha to describe the schedule and pertinent details. MARK YOUR CALENDARS and join us. Last year's participants were delighted to attend. FACULTY/STAFF NEWS John H Erickson, Dean, Peter N Gramowich Professor of Church History, will travel to St Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis, MN to speak on the evening of April 15, following Akathist and Presanctified Liturgy on the topic, "Communal Memory: Remembering Our Past as a Way to the Future." He will also speak at an inter-Orthodox conference devoted to the theme "Christ He Who Is: Towards a Common Christology," Sigtuna, Sweden, June 2-4, 2005. Dr John Barnet, Associate Professor of New Testament, delivered a paper at the Passion of Christ Symposium, April 4, entitled "Why was Jesus Crucified?" Fr John Behr, Professor of Patristics, delivered a paper at the Passion of Christ Symposium, April 4, entitled "In the Night in which He was Given Up." Dr Paul Meyendorff, Father Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology, delivered a paper at the Passion of Christ Symposium, April 4, entitled "On the Unitary Celebration of Pascha." In addition, he will travel to Geneva, Switzerland April 12-17 for a meeting of the WCC Faith and Order Commission drafting group for the anthropology study. Richard Schneider, Visiting Professor in Liturgical Art, delivered a paper at the Passion of Christ Symposium, April 4, entitled "The Cross as Icon." Fr Alexander Rentel, Assistant Professor of Canon Law and Byzantine Studies, delivered a paper at the Passion of Christ Symposium, April 4, entitled "The Passion and the Liturgy: Towards a Renewed Mystagogy." In addition, he accompanied His Grace Bishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada to Rome to represent the Orthodox Church in America at the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Fr Paul Tarazi, Professor of Old Testament, will speak at a three-day retreat April 8-10 at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Francisco, CA on the topic "The Book of Psalms." In addition, on April 16 he will speak at St Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Los Angeles, CA on the topic "Philippians: The Gospel of Paul." Dr Albert Rossi, Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology, will be at St Anthony's Orthodox Church, Bergenfield, NJ on April 9 to deliver a talk entitled "Leadership and Spiritual Growth: Making Decisions to Benefit the Church." Fr Steven Belonick, Director of Recruitment and Alumni Relations, will lead the annual Lenten Retreat at the seminary on Saturday, April 16 and will speak on "Growth in Life and Faith and Spiritual Understanding." CONGRATULATIONS TO NEW PARENTS AT THE SEMINARY Joseph Matusiak (2nd year) and his wife Nina are new parents of a son, Alexander John born March 4, 2005. William Neumann (2nd year) and his wife Marci are new parents of a son, Ambrose Marc, born January 23, 2005. Mousa Haddad (1st year) and his wife Delia are new parents of a son, Anthony Nabil, born January 19, 2005. Deacon Kirill Sokolov (4th year) and his wife Sophia (3rd year) are new parents of a son Nicholas, born October 12, 2004. ALUMNI/STAFF NEWS Fr Eugene Wozniak ('95) is deploying to Iraq in May 2005 to minister to the Orthodox Marines and sailors. If you know of any Orthodox who are or will be in Iraq during the month of May, please contact Fr Eugene or have the Marines and sailors contact Fr Eugene directly. He will make every effort to see them during his brief deployment. Email:
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Fr Philip Mugadizi (‘03) was elevated to office of Archimandrite in the Archdiocese of Kenya on March 27, 2005. Axios! Jeremy Davis (‘04) is nearly seven months into his youth ministry tour to Australia serving the Antiochian Orthodox Church there. He has traveled from Melbourne to Brisbane and unto Sydney teaching, lecturing, conducting Bible studies, meeting and counseling youth. He sends his regards to all. Danielle Eaton, seminary receptionist, gave birth to a son Lawrence Aaron on January 25, 2005. Congratulations! -END-
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